Penny Saga 3: Penny's Full Circle
by The EmiLily
Summary: Questions are answered about Penny's past, and new ones emerge!


PENNY'S FULL CIRCLE

"I'm free!" Penny said as she walked in the door of her room. The windows were open, and a fresh, summer breeze blew in a scent laced with fresh cut grass and sweet flowers. The sun was shining brightly after two days of cloudy, damp weather. It felt invigorating for her to be on summer vacation.

Penny's uncle, the great Inspector Gadget, hadn't had a case in over four months. Penny knew it couldn't last, but it was sure good having him home at the end of the day. Meanwhile, Brain was great company. Brain was Penny's dog that she had gotten from her father before he was kidnapped by Dr. Claw, the leader of M.A.D.

Penny reflected on the last few months of her life. She had finally stopped wearing the same outfit everyday. Instead of wearing olive-green pants with off-white patches on the knees, a red t-shirt with a fat white stripe around the middle, and her orange-golden hair in two ponytails, she now dressed more like the eighth-grader she was. She was trapped outside in a huge snowstorm, and nearly died. Corporal Capeman, her uncle's assistant, had graduated from Secret Agent School, and had gone out on his own with another police force somewhere across the country. She also had been asked by her father's old housekeeper, Mrs. Larson, to come and stay with her at her new home in Olympia, Washington, this summer for a few weeks. She was going tomorrow.

She was a little afraid. Even though she had been all around the world, it was always with Uncle, Brain, or both. This time, she was going alone. She was going on the plane along, meeting Mrs. Larson alone, staying at the house alone with Mrs. Larson. It would be a new experience, definitely. Mrs. Larson said she had a surprise. Penny couldn't help but wonder what that was. She thought of money, but Mrs. Larson wasn't that well off. It really couldn't have anything to do with where her father was, or Uncle would have told her. She was coming up blank.

She took her hair out of the ponytail it was in and put it in two ponytails. Habits are hard to break. She kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the bed. She pressed a button next to her bed and the radio came on. As usual, there was nothing on. There was a new song out by Ace of Base, which was one of her favorite groups, but she never heard it on the radio. 

She decided that she should probably start packing for her trip, but it was so nice not having anything to do, she just wanted to lie down and relax. Unfortunately, she relaxed too much. She fell asleep. When she awoke she looked at the clock.

"It's six o'clock? I slept for four hours? Woah... You know Penny, you shouldn't sleep like that when you have something to do," she scolded herself lightly. 

She got up rather slowly so she wouldn't get dizzy, and got her suitcase from her closet. She opened it up and then went back to her closet. She packed a few of her "classic" shirts and pants, and then some of her new clothes, like her black and blue pairs of overalls, some jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, kneesocks, patent leather shoes, and sundresses. By the time she had put in everything else she needed, the suitcase was practically bursting. It was to be, however, a three-week trip. 

"Please fasten your seat belts as flight one-one-nine will be taking off from Metro City to Olympia National Airport in five minutes," said one of the stewardess's voices over the intercom. Penny jumped, a little startled, as she usually didn't hear that. She was usually more concentrated on getting off the ground on most flights, or talking to Uncle or Brain. During this flight, however, she was completely alone. 

She had fixed her hair in a braid and worn her black overalls with a white t-shirt. It had become one of her more favorite outfits in the past few months. It made her look rather mature. As she buckled her seat belt, she felt the roar of the plane's engines increase and the metal contraption move down the runway. Their elevation increased and they were airborne.

During the hour-long flight, Penny amused herself by writing and listening to her portable CD player. There were no meals on this flight, so Penny brought along a bag of barbecue ruffled potato chips to snack on. She was hungry, too, as she skipped breakfast to get an early start. 

In what seemed like no time, the plane touched down on the runway in Olympia. Penny had nodded off during the flight, and was shook awake by the jolt of the rubber wheels touching the asphalt runway. 

Penny stepped out of the plane into bright sunshine, and she held her hand up to her eyes to shield them from the light. She saw an older woman that she recognized to be Mrs. Larson. She yelled over, and the woman motioned for her to come. Penny had only carry-on luggage, so she went right over to Mrs. Larson.

"Penny! It's been so long! Give me a hug!" said Mrs. Larson jovially.

"Mrs. Larson! I haven't seen you in so long!" gushed Penny. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good, how about you?" Mrs. Larson responded.

"Oh, wonderful!" said Penny.

"I notice you're not wearing what you used to!" said Mrs. Larson.

"I got tired of it..." said Penny, letting the sentence kind of fade off. Mrs. Larson got the gist.

"Well, let's not stand here talking...I have a surprise for you at the house and she's eagerly awaiting you," said Mrs. Larson exuberantly.

"She?" asked Penny.

"Just come and see," said Mrs. Larson as she motioned toward the car.

Penny put her luggage in the backseat and joined Mrs. Larson in the front. The half-hour ride passed rather quickly, and Penny saw a small, modest, but very nice looking brick house. It appeared to have one and a half stories, nice large windows in the front, and a gorgeously landscaped exterior.

Penny retrieved her bag from the backseat and followed Mrs. Larson up the walk. She opened up the wooden door with a rather old-looking key and went in. Penny followed.

"Cassie! Cassie! Penny's here!" cried Mrs. Larson.

"Coming..." cried a blasé voice from the other room that sounded much like Penny's.

A girl that looked almost identical to Penny came walking into the room. She had her hair in two ponytails and had on a yellow dress with a blue top. She gasped as soon as she saw Penny, and Penny did the same.

"Penelope, meet Cassandra. Cassandra, this is Penelope," said Mrs. Larson proudly.

"You can call me Penny," said Penny quietly.

"It's Cassie," said Cassie, equally as quiet and somewhat nervously.

"You see, Penny, when your mom gave birth, I was one of the midwives. I never went into the room where you were delivered, but I was in the next room. Your mother only thought she had one, but she actually had two babies. You were born healthy and went right back to your mother after you were born. Cassie, however, was blue from lack of oxygen and was left for dead with me. I took her to the hospital, and they revived her. No one knew she was your mother's, Penny, so I took her in. Every morning I would get up and feed Cassie and then welcome my babysitter. Then I would go to your house and play with you and clean house. Then I would go home, pay my babysitter and play more with Cassie. It was confusing but worth it," said Mrs. Larson. 

"So, I've had a sister for thirteen years and not known about it?" asked Penny in wonderment.

"Yes. Your uncle and father no nothing of this and neither did your mother. She thought Cassie was stillborn. As you can see, she is not," Mrs. Larson said.

"I still cannot believe this," said Cassie.

"Neither can I," said Penny.

"I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do. I'll get out of your way. Lunch will be ready in about an hour," Mrs. Larson said and left the room.

For a good ten minutes, all the two girls could do was stare at each other. They looked deep into each other's eyes, wide open still with disbelief. 

Finally, Cassie's eyes got a little smaller and she smiled a half-smile and said, "So, do you wanna see my room?"

"Sure," Penny replied and the two went down to the end of a hall where Cassie's room was situated. It looked very similar to her room, only there weren't nearly as many techno-gadgets. All Cassie had was a radio and a cordless phone. "Hold on," Penny said and she went down the hall to retrieve her suitcase. When she came back, she removed her braid and put her hair into two ponytails. She stared at Cassie again and then said, "Wow! It really is like looking in a mirror!"

"You got that right," said Cassie. "This has just blown my mind. I mean, I find out I have a sister, a twin sister, after thirteen years!"

"It is amazing. I mean, just in an hour I went from being an only child to being a twin. I'm even talking like you, or should I say, you talk like me!" said Penny.

"This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. You'll obviously be staying in this room. We can talk, we can bond, we can catch up on old times," said Cassie.

"Well, let's start the bonding now. I used to wear two ponytails for a long time and this outfit," here Penny paused to get it out of her suitcase, "for a long time because it's what I was wearing when I was told our father had been kidnapped. Why, if you do, do you wear two ponytails? It seems weird we both like to wear our hair in the same way," said Penny.

"It's how my mom used to fix my hair. I know she's not really my mother, but she has acted as one for thirteen years. I wear it like this a lot, but not all the time," said Cassie.

"Have you ever wore these?" asked Penny.

"A few times...I grew out of my 'outfit' years ago. Where did you get that in our size?" asked Cassie.

"I had it specially made. I was wearing it up till recently. Now I wear things like this, but I still wear it once in a while," explained Penny.

"Let's wear the exact same thing. Do you have a blue sundress in your bag? How about sandals?" asked Cassie.

"I almost always wear socks. How about a blue sundress and white socks with patent leather shoes, or saddle shoes?" asked Penny.

"Saddle shoes? I guess so...let me get mine and change. I'll put my hair in a braid. You go into the bathroom and do the same. It's the first door on your left," said Cassie.

"Okay," said Penny, and did as instructed. She came out looking not much different. She put her clothes over her arm and knocked on the door.

"Just a moment," said Cassie, and then opened the door. Cassie looked so different she almost looked like a different person even though they looked almost exactly alike. 

"Wow, that's a different look on you!" said Penny.

"You know, I usually don't dress in these kind of clothes, meaning the saddle shoes, but it does feel good," said Cassie. "Next time, however, it's my choice of clothes okay?"

Before Penny had a chance to reply, Mrs. Larson yelled down the hall that it was time for lunch. "Let's go!" said Cassie.

That night, after Penny and Cassie had gotten into their pajamas, Penny got into one of Cassie's two beds, and Cassie got into the other. They each had a full day. After lunch, the girls went outside and met a few of Cassie's friends. Most were friendly, a few stared and left because the situation was just to weird, and a few got too friendly. A few of the boys that were Cassie's friends wanted to go out with Penny, and she had to turn them down. Long distance relationships had never worked for Penny. She had tried it with a boy in Thailand, and a boy in Hong Kong, and it never worked. It had only worked once, with her friend in Japan, Atsuko. 

The two girls had developed a strong bond within twelve hours. They found out they had the same taste in music, clothes, hairstyles, books, school subjects, and views. Cassie discovered Penny wrote occasionally, and Penny discovered that Cassie played the piano. The Larson's had a piano in the sitting room, where Penny hadn't been yet. 

"My mother says this is a great neighborhood," said Cassie.

"Yeah, it seems cool," replied Penny.

"Actually, where only a mile or so from the school...I walk if the weather is nice," explained Cassie.

"I live sort of far from my school. I have to take a ten-minute bus ride. It does get a little boring after a while," said Penny.

"I can imagine. So, what's it like living with the world-famous Inspector Gadget?" asked Cassie.

"Actually, it's not that bad. I get to go all over the world, and we never have money problems. When uncle has a few months off or so, we get to have some great times together," said Penny.

"This question has been bugging me ever since you got here: what's your last name? Do you go by Penny Gadget?" asked Cassie.

"No, it's Penny Ralston. That's my uncle and father's real last name, but people call my uncle Inspector Gadget because of, well, the gadgets. No one ever calls him Robert anymore," said Penny.

"Penny Ralston and Cassie Larson...we make a good pair, don't we," said Cassie.

"You know, I think we were meant to be together," said Penny jokingly and both girls laughed.

"Wouldn't it be weird if their were three of us?" asked Cassie.

"Now, there would be some confusion," said Penny.

"Uncle never has time to prepare full meals like this. Usually he has to be at the police station before I wake up," said Penny. "These pancakes are extremely good."

"Why thank you, Penny. It's nice to know my pancakes can still get a compliment out of you," said Mrs. Larson.

"So, Mrs. Larson, did you ever marry?" asked Penny.

"No, I didn't. I took care of Cassie in Metro City until your father, well, until he was kidnapped, and then I moved up here to start over. I couldn't bear being in the same town as he was," said Mrs. Larson.

"I remember the move," said Cassie. "I didn't have too many friends so it wasn't too traumatic. It was cool on the bus."

"Now what do you do for a living, Mrs. Larson?" asked Penny.

"I am an overseer at a factory, and I am going to be late if I don't hurry," said Mrs. Larson as she hurriedly got up from the table. "I'll see you girls around five."

"Bye mom!" called Cassie.

"See you," said Penny.

Both girls continued eating their pancakes as they heard the door slam fifteen minutes later.

"Do you wanna go over to the school and see what it looks like? You can ride my mother's bike," asked Cassie.

"Sure," replied Penny and they went out to a shed that Penny had missed in her initial sighting of the house. Cassie got out two bikes and motioned to the one Penny was to ride. Soon they were off riding down the street.

"You go biking much in Metro City?" yelled Cassie over the wind.

"Tons. Usually it's not for pleasure though," said Penny.

"What do you mean?" asked Cassie, a little confused.

"Nothing. You bike a lot here?" Penny asked.

"When it doesn't rain. It looks like it might today, and today is like an average day here. It's very rainy in these parts," said Cassie.

"It's rained for three straight days in Metro City," said Penny. "I thought coming up here I could get away from the gloom."

"You never know. The weathermen and women are never right up here. They predicted a hot sunny day for today. That's obviously not happening," said Cassie.

"Obviously not," said Penny as Cassie said, "Oh, here's where we turn to get into the school."

"Looks nice," was Penny's first reaction to the school, which, while it looked a little more run down than her school, had a rustic, quaint appeal.

"Do you wanna go inside and see what it looks like? I'm sure the doors are still open," said Cassie.

"No, that's okay. Let's go down to those fields over there," said Penny.

"All right, I'll race you down there!" said Cassie as she took off.

No matter how good Cassie was, Penny definitely had the advantage, having biked so much in Metro City. After letting Cassie lead for a good minute, Penny shifted gears and flew ahead of Cassie, leaving her in the dust. She mowed over long grass in the undeveloped area and then back on to fresh cut turf. She was almost to the end when she came to the top of a rather big hill. Right over the side was a girl, and Penny stopped as quickly as she could. She flew over the handlebars and landed with a bounce a few yards from the girl. The girl looked just like her.

"Are you all right? Are you all right?" asked the girl anxiously.

"I'm fine, just a little dazed. Things like that happen a lot," said Penny.

"Woah! We look, like, totally alike!" said the girl. "My name is Camryn Johnson. What's yours?"

"Penny Ralston. Here comes my twin, Cassie Larson," said Penny as Cassie rounded the top of the hill.

"Penny! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" said Cassie, and then she stared agape at Penny and Camryn.

"You-you-you look like us!" stammered Cassie.

"I suppose I do. I'm Camryn Johnson. You guys can call me Cammie. So you're twins?" asked Cammie.

"Yeah...we just found out yesterday, in fact. It's a long story," said Cassie, and then she told it, with some help from Penny.

"That's amazing. I mean, I don't know how I would feel if I had a twin," said Cammie.

"It seems obvious that you are related to us," said Cassie.

"She can't be our triplet sister. Your mother told us there were only two," said Penny.

"She must be a cousin," said Cassie.

"Or maybe a long lost relative," suggested Cammie.

"Whatever, this is just amazing," said Cassie.

"We've been over this," said Penny jokingly and all three laughed.

"Do you wanna ride with us?" asked Cassie.

"Sure! Penny, are you sure you're okay?" asked Cammie.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Penny.

"Please can she sleep over, please!" begged Cassie into the phone two days later to her mother.

"You really want this, don't you?" asked her mother.

"Yes!" said Cassie.

"Please, Mrs. Larson!" pleaded Penny from another line. 

"All right, Cammie can sleep over. But only on one condition. You two have to clean out the garage," said Mrs. Larson.

"Fine. Oh thank you thank you thank you..." said Cassie.

"Thanks, Mrs. Larson," said Penny.

The three hung up the phones after the good-byes were spoken. "Yes!" they said together as they gave themselves high-fives.

They invited Cammie over and all three of them cleaned up the garage until it was nearly spotless. The cement floor was washed, the boxes neatly stacked, and the recyclables were all perfectly sorted. It looked better than it ever been.

"Phew! That was hard work," said Cammie.

"Well, it was worth it. Did you bring your sleeping bag?" asked Cassie.

"Yeah. Since I'm the only one of us not allergic to dust I don't mind sleeping on the floor," said Cammie.

"Well, it's not like my room is that dusty," said Cassie.

"Are you sure?" asked Penny, which made all three of them laugh.

"This is the weirdest thing that could have ever happened," said Cassie.

"Yeah. I thought I would spend a few weeks with my old housekeeper. Instead, I have met a twin and someone who could be a twin and they've become new family," said Penny. "Up till now the only family I've had is Uncle and Brain. I don't have too many friends, either."

"I was adopted, and the man who is raising me is getting old. He's almost seventy, and he's got a bad heart. He says I bring the light into his life. Of course, he was in perfect health and fifty-seven when he adopted me, but he got in a car crash and that's affected him very severely. It gave me a limp cause my leg got caught in a twisted position," said Cammie.

"Really? I don't notice a limp," said Penny.

"That was a long time ago. It's not nearly as pronounced now," said Cammie.

"Hey, how would you all like the grand tour of the house? Penny's been here for three and a half days and she still doesn't know where everything is," said Cassie.

"Sure," said Cammie and Penny.

"All right, follow me!" commanded Cassie.

The two of them followed Cassie into the house through the front door.

"This here is the TV room. You can see our TV in the corner. Over there," she said motioning to a doorway to the left, "is the kitchen. If you would accompany me to the hallway, we go down it slowly, as there is much to see. On the left is the formal sitting room with piano. To the right is the dining room for special guests. Down farther to the left is the downstairs bathroom. To the right is our walk-in linen closet. Right in front of you is the door to my room. Now, we move back up the hall and right before the start of the hallway is a staircase. As we ascend the staircase you'll notice the nicely done carpet. At the top is my mother's room. There is a TV and a bathroom next to it. Back down the stairs we go to the kitchen, and to the basement."

"This is a cool house," said Cammie. "Mine is a lot smaller."

"Going down the stairs," said Cassie," we have our basement. This is for storage only, and we keep our bikes and stuff in the shed. The cement floor hasn't flooded for six years."

"What's that locked door at the end there?" asked Penny.

"Oh, that's my mother's secret place. I have one too, but I haven't anything in it yet," explained Cassie.

"What's in your mother's?" asked Cammie.

"I've asked, but she won't tell me. I tried to break the lock when I was younger but now that I am older and more mature I know that it's her secret place and I should respect her privacy," said Cassie.

"Yeah, I suppose..." said Penny.

All three girls went upstairs. By now, it was getting kind of late. Mrs. Larson came home and fixed dinner for the three girls, and they ate quickly. They had a lot of catching up to do.

"This has sure been a weird day. It's only the second day we've all known each other," said Cammie.

"It doesn't get any weirder than this," agreed Cassie.

"Yup," seconded Penny.

"How come I've never seen you before, Cammie?" asked Cassie.

"I just moved here. The bank foreclosed on our house and the only way we could continue to live in a real house was to move to the capital so dad could get a desk job with the public works," said Cammie, her eyes getting a little misty.

"I did notice your bike was a little rusty," said Cassie.

"Well, worst things have happened in my life. I've heard about Cassie...what about you, Penny?" asked Cammie.

"My dad was an investigator for Metro City's police force. He was kidnapped when I was seven by Dr. Claw, the head of an evil crime organization known as M.A.D. Well, we don't know for sure it was Claw, but we're pretty sure. Anyway, my uncle came to stay with me and my dog Brain during this time and it soon became permanent. My Uncle is the famous Inspector Gadget, and I've been all over the world with Brain helping him with his cases. Mrs. Larson was my father's housekeeper," said Penny.

"Wow, that's quite a story," said Cammie.

"Wait, it gets better. Penny's mom actually had twins, but the second one, me, was thought to be stillborn. My mother, who is really Penny's housekeeper, revived me but no one knew. I've lived with her since I've been born, and I moved up here when I was seven," said Cassie.

"That is just amazing. It is so hard to believe," said Cammie.

"It's true, though, and that's the best part," said Penny.

A slight rustling woke Penny up during the night. Penny was a little groggy, and didn't really know where she was. She still wasn't used to her new surroundings. She looked at Cassie, who was sleeping soundly. Then she looked down at Cammie's sleeping bag. She was gone. Penny assumed she went to the bathroom and fell back asleep.

"She's gone! She's gone!" Cassie screamed.

"Huh? What?" mumbled Penny groggily. She had fallen asleep with her "classic outfit" on. Her hair was all knotted and her pant legs were rolled up. She pulled up her socks and rolled down her pant legs. She undid her hair and let it hang loose. Then she sat up fully and asked what was going on.

"She's gone, Penny! Cammie's disappeared!" shouted Cassie.

"What's all this ruckus?" asked Mrs. Larson as she poked her head through the door.

"Cammie's gone!" shouted Cassie. "She is gone!"

"Relax, she's probably in the bathroom," said Mrs. Larson.

"No, she's not, I've looked everywhere and in every way! She's been kidnapped!" said Cassie.

"Well, we'll wait for an hour or so and wait to see if she turns up. If she doesn't, we'll call the police," said Mrs. Larson.

Three hours came and went, with Penny and Cassie pacing back and forth and Mrs. Larson telling them to stop worrying. When Cammie didn't show up, it was Mrs. Larson's turn to get worried. She called the police immediately and a squad car was dispatched to the house. The two policewomen that were in the car came in and looked around. They found nothing. They went in the basement and saw Mrs. Larson's secret place. They asked to look in there. Mrs. Larson said that not only was it private, but the lock had been rusted shut for years. They were welcome to try, but she hadn't been able to budge it. The officers tried, but both of them couldn't do anything. They were satisfied no one could be in there. They took statements from everyone, including what Penny sort of saw the night before, and told the three they would call the minute they heard anything and to keep the lines clear.

The pacing and worrying continued for the next four hours. The phone rang, and Mrs. Larson picked it up. She talked for a few minutes, then her face looked very grave. She hung up and faced Cassie and Penny.

"Cammie's father, Mr. Johnson, is dead. His weak heart couldn't take the stress of possibly losing Cammie," said Mrs. Larson.

Both girls were totally shocked. They didn't have any idea what was going on.

"We have to do something to get our minds off of this mess," said Cassie.

"Yeah. I'm going crazy! First, we meet a twin, and then we meet someone who looks just like us. Then she gets kidnapped! What is goin on here?" asked Penny.

"I couldn't tell ya. Perhaps we were never meant to be together in the first place," said Cassie.

"Well, maybe your mother has some pictures of my father we can look at. After all, he's your father too," said Penny.

"Good idea," said Cassie. The girls went to Mrs. Larson and asked her about it.

"I think I have a few boxes down cellar. You could go check. Even though I have a crisis on my hands, I still have to work. Now, you two keep the cordless phone with you in case the police contact us, okay," said Mrs. Larson.

"All right," said Penny and Cassie in unison.

Mrs. Larson spent five minutes finishing her make-up and then left the house. Cassie grabbed the cordless phone and followed Penny down into the basement. The door shut behind her.

They had no trouble finding the boxes upon boxes of pictures. Some of them were easy to rule out if they were containing pictures of Penny's father, as they were marked "Bermuda Vacation - 1976", which was way before Mrs. Larson started taking care of Penny's father's house. 

Finally they stumbled upon a box marked "First Year With The Ralston's - 1984". Penny and Cassie tore into it, and soon found a wealth of pictures of Penny's father. A few brought some tears, but most brought back happy memories. The two spent at least an hour looking at the photos, and still no word came from the police.

They decided to go upstairs to get something to eat. As they were about ready to set foot on the first stair, they heard a clicking sound at the top of the stairs, and a metal plate rose up and blocked out the door.

"Your mother locked us in!" said Penny.

"How-how do you know that? It could be the kidnapper," said Cassie.

"First of all, how would the kidnapper know about the metal plate? He or she doesn't live here. Secondly," Penny said as she held up a dead cordless phone that she had tried to call out on, "he wouldn't have known we had a cordless."

"Oh my God you're right! But why would she do it?" asked Cassie.

"Maybe she has something to hide?" suggested Penny.

"But what?" asked Cassie.

"I don't know, maybe we should check out her secret place," said Penny.

"Are you sure?" asked Cassie.

"What do we have to lose? Maybe there's a way out through there," said Penny.

When they got to the door they saw the rusted out lock. It seemed rusted shut, but it seemed that a key would open it.

"We forgot about the lock," said Cassie.

"No matter. This is a special watch my uncle gave me because of my interest in computers. Watch," said Penny as she aimed the watch at the lock. A laser was emitted from the watch and it broke the lock in two. The heavy door swung open. Inside was a small room, the back of which was a solid metal door with a bank-vault like combination wheel on it. Penny used her watch to un-code it, as it was computer run. What she saw, and what Cassie saw, would change their lives forever.

"Penny? Is that you?" asked Cammie's voice from the dark.

"Yes, it's me, and Cassie too," said Penny.

"Well, there's someone in here whom you probably want to know," said Cammie.

"Penny, it's me. It's dad," said Penny's father.

Penny immediately fainted, and she fell to the hard rock floor. Only immediate action from Cassie prevented her from hitting her head. Cammie came rushing out to see, and Penny's father came out slowly. It was the first time he had been out of the vault-like room in seven years. 

"Penny," he said. "Penny..."

"Dad?" said Penny as she came out of her faint.

"Yes?" he replied.

"What happened?" asked Penny.

"Well, after you were born, your mother began to expect that the other two babies she delivered, yes two, were not really stillborn. She began to ask questions, and Mrs. Larson was getting worried. You see, she had always wanted a child of her own, and she had promised a young couple a baby for a considerable amount of money. When she heard that Moiré, my wife, was going to have triplets, she must have known it was a perfect setup. She was the main midwife, and gave us the oldest, Penny, and gave away the youngest, Cammie. The middle one, Cassie, she kept for herself. The young couple, however, found out they couldn't take care of Cammie, so they put her up for adoption, and Mr. Johnson adopted her. When your mother got close to the truth, Mrs. Larson had to do something. She was going to kidnap her, but she used too much gas to put her to sleep, and her heart stopped. Soon, I realized there was something-fishy going on with my wife's death, so I started asking questions. Soon, I found myself in a warehouse, and then here. It was rather nice of Mrs. Larson to tell me how she did it, as her loose tongue will cost her in court," said Mr. Ralston.

"Wow! There's another part to this saga. Cammie, I don't know how to tell you this, but, your father is dead. He suffered a heart attack after hearing you were missing," said Cassie.

At this Cammie broke down. She cried for a good fifteen minutes before Cassie told her to "cry later because we have to get out of here." The three decided to try and use Penny's watch to contact the Police. They were able to contact the fire department, which in turn contacted the police. They waited until the police were outside, and then went up the stairs and cut a large whole in the metal door with Penny's laser. Then, Mr. Ralston broke down the wooden door easily. 

They had no idea where Mrs. Larson was, or if she was even in the house. All they knew was that they had to get out of there. They were about to exit when Mrs. Larson yelled, "Freeze!"

"You! You are the one who's made my life hell!" said Mr. Ralston.

"Well, I had to do some things to protect me in case I was found out. Kidnapping you just happened to be one of them," said Mrs. Larson, pointed a gun at the quartet.

"That is a feeble excuse. You don't deserve to be alive," said Mr. Ralston.

"Really? Well, when I sneak out of here through the garage in my car and the bomb I planted in this house goes off in three hours there will be no evidence to convict me, and I will be home free in Tahiti! Ha!" said Mrs. Larson.

"You are just plain evil! What is wrong with you?" asked Mr. Ralston.

"Nothing is wrong with me. Nothing is wrong at all. It's what's wrong with you that I should be asking," said Mrs. Larson.

"Why should you be asking that?" asked Mr. Ralston.

"You're a detective. You shouldn't have been so easily caught. Now, all four of you, get over here," commanded Mrs. Larson.

Slowly, Mr. Ralston and his three daughters obeyed Mrs. Larson.

"Give me your watch, dearie," said Mrs. Larson to Penny. Penny grudgingly unhooked the band from around her wrist and handed it to Mrs. Larson. Then, Mrs. Larson took a length of rope from a table nearby and proceeded to tie everyone up. She then went upstairs to deposit the watch and to get her suitcase. She didn't want any evidence on her at all.

Mr. Ralston said, "It's a good thing she forgot. Ropes are my specialty." He easily got out of the ropes, and was in the process of untying the others when Mrs. Larson came back down. Mr. Ralston dropped the ropes and charged Mrs. Larson, who was by now off the staircase. Mrs. Larson fired the gun, and Mr. Ralston fell to the ground. While Mrs. Larson was apparently in shock from firing the gun and possibly killing another person, Penny, Cassie, and Cammie all rushed over and tackled her to the ground. Cammie asked if Cassie and Penny had it down. When they replied yes, Cammie went to the window and called the police in.

"Get an ambulance! My dad is hurt!" said Penny.

"Yeah! And there's a bomb upstairs!" said Cammie.

The officers quickly arrested Mrs. Larson and evacuated everyone except Mr. Ralston from the house. They called in an ambulance and the bomb squad. The ambulance arrived first and took Mr. Ralston to the hospital with Penny, Cassie, and Cammie.

"How are you holding up?" Cammie asked Penny.

"Okay, I guess," Penny said as she wiped a few stray tears away.

"What'd the doctor say?" asked Cassie.

"He's been shot through the liver. It's not serious normally, but this bullet also ruptured his spleen and his in danger of bleeding to death. I lost my father once. I'm not going to lose him again," said Penny through teary eyes.

"That's okay," said Cammie as she and Cassie put their arms around Penny. "He's our father too."

"Oh my god Penny are you all right?" came the words from Inspector Gadget's mouth.

"Uncle!" cried Penny.

"Who are these girls? Your twins?" asked Uncle bewildered when he saw the other two.

"This is Cassie and this is Cammie," said Penny, introducing each of them. 

"How's your dad?" asked Uncle.

The tears that had stopped at the joy of seeing her uncle started again, and she hugged her uncle tight. "They say he might bleed to death, and I don't want to have to let go again," said Penny.

"It's okay, you won't have to," said Gadget. "You won't have to."

A rather young looking doctor came out of the operating room.

"Where are the people waiting for Mr. Ralston?" he asked.

"Over here," Gadget said.

All four gathered around the doctor. "The bullet tore part of his liver, but we took that out and it will grow back. It also ruptured his spleen. We had to take that out too. He will pull through, as we stopped the bleeding, but he'll have to take hormones for the rest of his life," explained the doctor. "You can go see him now."

Penny was overjoyed at this news, and she saw everyone else was too. She could tell this was the beginning of a new era.

By the end of the summer, Inspector Gadget, Mr. Ralston, Penny, Cassie, and Cammie were all down in Metro City, where they would live until they could decide if a better set-up was needed. While still emotionally scarred and seeking appropriate therapy, life was pretty much back to normal. Mr. Ralston was taking his pills everyday, and was feeling better than ever. Uncle Gadget became a consultant on the police force, meaning he didn't have to go away for long periods of time. Penny, Cassie, and Cammie all started school in the fall, and everyone wanted to hear their story. They were almost forced to hold an assembly to answer everyone's questions. It was the start of something different, but something almost expected. Penny had some old family back, and new family she didn't even know she had. She had come full circle. What started as a feeling of dullness when she noticed that everything was the same and she felt so young for age became a rapid maturation from when she felt like a second-grader in the eighth grade, to feeling like an adult in high school. 


End file.
